The boys released their latest single, “Opera“, on May 9th, and ranked in the top 3 on the Oricon daily chart for five days straight. After reaching as high as second, “Opera” finally topped the chart on May 13th by selling 36,297 copies. Breakdown of the daily sales: day 1 sold 54,331 copies, day 2 sold 15,608 copies, day 3 sold 6,320, day 4 sold 4,036 copies, day 5 sold 39,367 copies and day 6 sold 36,227 copies. Altogether, “Opera” sold a total of 155,603 copies.

Super Junior also performed in front of more than 100,000 people at the Tokyo Dome for their ‘Super Show 4‘ world tour on May 12th and 13th.

XIA (JYJ‘s Junsu) is known to be one of the most well-rounded artists out there today. Not only is he considered to be one of Korea’s top-notch idol vocalists, he has also been acknowledged by international choreographers for his flawless dance moves, and his fresh new mini-album is also nothing short of immaculate.

Junsu’s first solo album ‘TARANTALLEGRA‘ consists of many of his self-wrote, self-composed songs and it covers a wide variety of musical genres such as dance, R&B, hip hop ballads, standard slow, and many more. He lives up to his title as an experienced idol singer by also pulling off tracks with fierce, powerful beats and electronic dance songs, and the singer truly displays his unparalleled identity with his title song “Tarantallegra“. Like the professional vocalist he is, XIA perfectly sings the melody of each song in his first solo album, and genuinely conveys each emotion that surrounds the lyrics.

Artists such as Aziatix‘s Flowsik, Dynamic Duo‘s Gaeko, Bizzy, and Double Khave also made their features on Junsu’s new album as a special treat for fans. Fellow JYJ member Kim Jaejoong along with Junsu’s twin brother JUNO also made contributions by composing and producing a few tracks on the album.

XIA’s first dream-like solo album is the best ear-candy for this summer season.

Boy group INFINITE who climbed to the top after making a splash with each release last year has finally returned with a new album!

Fans everywhere have eagerly been awaiting the release of their new mini-album ‘INFINITIZE‘ which has officially dropped on May 15th (KST).

INFINITE has once again teamed up with Sweetune who produced their title track “The Chaser“. Like the title suggests, it’s a rather fast-paced track that sings of a man who is willing to let go of the woman he loves, but is determined to do whatever it takes to get her back, as long as his feelings for her do not change.

“The Chaser” is another song in which fans will be able to sense the different charms of all 7 members, and it is already expected to be another chart-topper.

Check out some of the songs from INFINITE’s new mini album below and remember to support by purchasing the music!

Hangul Smart Domain Organization, an organization that provides URL addresses in hangul, recently launched an online poll, taking place from May 3rd to May 11th. The site listed ten girl groups including:Girls’ Generation, Kara, Wonder Girls, 4minute, Secret, T-ara,Sistar, Miss A, 2NE1, and After School. The poll has finally been closed and the results for the most popular girl goup, picked by netizens are finally here.

23,274 people participated in this event. Girls’ Generation took most of the pie, as they collected 48.22% of the total votes. Kara came in second with 30.17% while Wonder Girls took third with 11.09%. The rest of the groups received very little votes compared to the top three. The results were: 4minute (3.82%), Secret (2.01%), T-ara (1.92%), Sistar (0.84%), Miss A (0.69%), 2NE1 (0.66%), and After School (0.53%).

As a result, Girls’ Generation, Kara, Wonder Girls and their fan clubs will be among the first in the world to receive the Hangul smart domain in the address of 'http://소녀시대.홈'", 'http://카라.홈' 'http://원더걸스.홈' (각 홈페이지연결), 'http://소녀시대.팬', 'http://카라.팬', 'http://원더걸스.팬'.

Hangul Smart Domain also plans to hold an online poll with boy groups as well.

6 member rookie girl group, Hello Venus, is in full spotlight despite their recent debut.

Since the release of their debut album “Venus” on May 9th, Hello Venus captured a lot of attention for their visuals and talent and are continuing in their daebak parade, being dubbed as the most promising girl group of 2012.

Starting with Mnet‘s ‘M! Countdown!’ on the 10th, Hello Venus captured the viewers attention with their lovely stage and looks. They then made debut stages on KBS‘ ‘Music Bank‘ on the 11th, MBC‘s ‘Music Core‘ on the 12th, and SBS‘ ‘Inkigayo‘ on the 13th. During those 4 days, they topped the real time searches on various search engines.

Also, the music video for their title song, “Venus”, has already exceeded 500,000 views since its release on the 9th. Their two pre-debut teaser videos have also exceeded 200,000 views each, proving the high anticipation for the group’s debut.

Hello Venus members commented, “Our debut still doesn’t feel real yet. We thank all those who have been giving a lot of support for a rookie group and we promise to perform our best.”

The recording that had taken place on May 2nd also featured a surprise appearance made by Yang Hyun Suk’s biological brother. Different from his current image, Yang Hyun Suk’s brother revealed that Yang Hyun Suk used to be quite a troublemaker when they were young.

“Yang Hyun Suk was the neighborhood troublemaker,” his brother said. “He was so infatuated with baseball, he used to always break pots and windows while playing. Because of him, our family had to pay off debt for a year.”

In addition to this episode, Yang Hyun Suk will also be sharing stories he has never revealed until now. Don’t miss this episode airing on May 14th at 11:15PM KST.

On the May 13th broadcast of ‘Running Man’, HyunA, Gyuri, Kara’s Seungyeon, Miss A‘s Suzy, and f(x)‘s Krystal guest-featured on the show. The members partnered up with the original Running Man members and participated in the ‘Wedding Race’ game.

During the race, the coupled-pairs entered an electronic department store to play a quiz game. Participants were directed to stand in a horizontal line and run towards the producer who had the beeper in front of him. The first couple to press the beeper button would have the privilege to answer a quiz question first. Prizes for answering the questions correctly included a smart LED slim TV, air conditioner, coffee maker, and more.

Kwangsoo and Gyuri, who were partners had an urge to win. When the chance came for them to answer a question, however, they spoke unclearly due to pressure and had to go back in line. Out of frustration, Gyuri unleashed her anger and yelled, “Aish! [crap!]” and flung her wedding gloves across the room. Kwangsoo became a little startled by her action and Yoo Jae Suk playfully commented, “Everyone is so angry right now“.

4minute’s Hyuna also showed frustration when she and Kim Jong Kook mis-answered a question. The producer hit the xylophone to signal that their answer was wrong. Out of frustration, HyunA made an angry expression and yelled, “Ah! My ear hurts!“. Nearby members cracked up at her cute tantrum.

The winner of this week’s Running Man ultimately went to Gary and Krystal. Krystal received a gorgeous crown as her prize, which evoked much jealousy from the other female idols.

Hallyu superstars Super Junior recently gained attention as they commented on their increasing popularity in the Japanese market.

On May 13th, Super Junior held a press conference to mark the ‘Super Show 4‘ concert at the prestigious Tokyo Dome. During the conference, leader Lee Teuk shared his thoughts on Super Junior’s popularity by commenting, “I think we benefited greatly from the Hallyu Wave“.

When asked about the comparisons to label mates and fellow Hallyu superstars TVXQ, Lee Teuk replied, “Many people compare our popularity to TVXQ’s, but we really have a long way to go. TVXQ’s fandom is beyond imagination. TVXQ’s popularity is the result of hard work that began at performances in front of only 500 people.”

He continued by explaining, “In comparison, we never had any real promotions or activities in Japan but we received a lot of love as a result of the K-pop boom. We are considering creating a unit in Japan in order to repay the love that we received.”

In related news, Super Junior held their ‘Super Show 4′ performance across two nights at the Tokyo Dome. The concert was a resounding success, as each performance played to a crowd of over 55,000 and grossed over $14 million dollars in revenue.

The next leg of the ‘Super Show 4′ tour is scheduled to be held in Seoul on May 26 and 27th.

A recent coffee advertisement, with the pair posing as a couple, has been receiving explosive attention.

In the CF, the strong-faced Joo Won asked what is the most important thing in coffee, to which UEE replied firmly with, “Coffee beans“.

UEE’s agency, Pledis Entertainment stated, “The two have met for the first time in awhile as they have had busy schedules after ‘Ojakgyo Brothers’ and haven’t been in contact… During the filming, a lot of people kept saying ‘The two look really good together’ and there was a lot of laughter while filming.”

On May 11th, YG Entertainment released a video teaser featuring a potential member of the agency’s upcoming girl group on the YG-Life Blog. The new mystery girl seems to have outstanding dancing skills and, according to reports by media and fans, is rumored to be a 16-year-old half Caucasian and half Korean trainee from Thailand.

With three ‘mystery girls’ in total, including Kim Eunbi and Euna Kim, who were already known to the public through Mnet‘s ‘Superstar K‘, it seems like the members and overall structure of the new upcoming group shows several similarities to 2NE1, who made a powerful and impacting debut into the Korean music industry in 2009.

First, despite her young age of only 17, Kim Eunbi was one of the Top 6 finalists in 2010′s ‘Superstar K2‘. Many are anticipating that she will most likely be the main vocal or the ‘Park Bom‘ of this new group. During the second season of ‘Superstar K’, Eunbi showed her quirky and honest personality that captured the hearts of many male fans, which seems similar to 2NE1 Park Bom’s four-dimensional and dorky personality.

In addition, Euna Kim, who showed her talents and rapping skills in ‘Superstar K3‘ last year, could be connected to 2NE1′s CL. Euna Kim proved her potential and capabilities in rapping through her cover of Sam Sparro’s “Black and Gold” with Kim Eunbi. Other than that, her English proficiency and background in the United States seem to be similar to CL.

The second ‘mystery girl’, who was revealed on May 4th, gained attention from the public through her innocent and beautiful appearance. Although there hasn’t been much information revealed about this member, many are speculating her to be handling the ‘visual’ role of the group, which reminds us of 2NE1′s Sandara Park.

It has been said that the third ‘mystery girl’ revealed on the 11th is one of the best dancers from YG, with a fantastic sense of rhythm and powerful moves. Although she is only 16 years old, the video clip revealed shows her flexibility and skills in dancing to fast beats. This member seems to parallel with the ‘dancing-machine’ and the youngest member of 2NE1, Minzy.

These 16-20 year old girls have been taking away the search rankings on various Korean portal sites each time they were revealed through the YG-Life Blog. It seems like the marketing strategy by YG to reveal each ‘mystery girl’ one by one to build up anticipation has been a success so far.

Recently, there have been many girl groups making their debut in the industry. However, this upcoming girl group from YG Entertainment has been gaining a huge amount of attention from the media and public despite the fact that only a few members have been revealed. This is incredibly similar to when 2NE1 made their debut. 2NE1 transformed the definition of K-Pop girl groups, from innocent and cute looking to powerful hip-hop warriors. 2NE1 was a revolutionary group that swept the music charts during their debut, and now many are anticipating whether this new girl group will be able to follow in their footsteps.

YG has been trying to hide the personal information of these members and have been keeping them in complete ‘mystery’. With YG’s impressive marketing strategies, ability to set a new trend in the industry, and their top-class trainees, many are excited to see what this new group will bring to the K-Pop world.

‘The Avengers’, Marvel’s latest blockbuster movie made history earlier today, as it accumulated over $1 billion in gross sales, only 19 days after it began rolling out in designated markets. Although, this is an edited version, it’s very impressive, nonetheless. The smooth embedment of the 2pm members onto the poster makes it look very authentic and professional. For those who aren’t familiar with the characters, Junsu represents Iron Man, Junho as HawkEye, Taecyeon as Hulk, Nickkhun as Captain America, Chansung as Thor, Wooyoung as Black Widow, and Park Jin Young as Nick Fury.

Fans were extremely intrigued and commented, “Wow, this looks awesome“, “I need to go and watch this movie“, and “Junsu looks sick in that armor!”

On May 12th, veteran idol group, Shinhwasuccessfully completed the second concert of their Asia tour in Taiwan.

On May 14th, according to their agency, Shinhwa performed at Taipei, Taiwan for their ‘The Return‘ Asia tour, and 8,000 fans attended the event.

The tickets for the concert were completely sold out. Starting with their arrival at the Taoyuan airport, the group drew in enormous press. Numerous media outlets competed to take photo shots of the group including: MTV, Channel V, TVBS, Times Union, Trendy Fans, and more. Taiwan’s television, internet, and newspapers covered Shinhwa’s performance and arrival.

Furthermore, to celebrate Shinhwa’s arrival, fans are planning to donate 3,450 Kilograms of animal feed to an animal welfare organization. Shinhwa has shown their interest in love to animals numerous times in the past, and this is a perfect way to respect that.

Shinhwa’s label company also mentioned, “This was the first time that all 6 Shinhwa members did a Taiwanese concert through their 2012 Asia tour. Despite of this, Shinhwa received so much love. Fans filled the concert arena with orange ballons and they also gave us a unique wreath. We are truly thankful.”

The third concert of Shinhwa’s ‘The Return’ tour will be held on May 29th-30th at the Yokohama Arena in Japan. Another concert will be held on June 2nd at Kobe as well.

On the May 13th broadcast of SBS‘s ‘You and I‘, singer Yoon Young Bae and Lee Hyori’s boyfriend, Lee Sang Soon made an appearance and performed on the stage.

During the show, Yoon Young Bae and Lee Hyori presented a powerful performance as a duo through their strong vocals. Lee Sang Soon also stepped in to support them with his amazing guitar skills. After the performance was over, Lee Hyori praised Yoo Young Bae. ”Yoo Young Bae has this magic that makes you want to help him. I met him when he wrote the animal protection campaign song, ‘Remember‘ for me“, she said.

MC Jung Jae Hyung chipped in to talk about her boyfriend. ”So it wasn’t Lee Sang Soon who wrote the song” to which Hyori answered, “Lee Sang Soon wrote the song, but Yoon Young Bae made the lyrics.”

In addition, Yoon Sang and Kim Chang Wan band also made an appearance and performed a song of their own.

The fabulous ladies of TaeTiSeo have demonstrated the star power of Hallyu super-group Girl’s Generation by sweeping the weekend music broadcasts.

As of today, TaeTiSeo’s hit single “Twinkle” has hit #1 on network broadcasts KBS2TV‘s ‘Music Bank‘ and SBS‘s ‘Inkigayo‘, as well as cable programs such as Mnet‘s ‘M! Countdown‘ and MBC MUSIC‘s ‘Show! Champion‘.

Furthermore, the mini-album ‘Twinkle‘ is also demonstrating its hit status by retaining the number 1 spot on the physical album charts, extending its dominance to two consecutive weeks at number 1 since its release.

“Twinkle” has been receiving much love for its fun combination of throwback funky sounds with modern dance sounds. The loveable ladies were able to showcase their mature vocals and grooves in this particular hit, which marked a contrast in style from the past hits of Girl’s Generation.

In light of the overwhelmingly positive response to “Twinkle”, the ladies of TaeTiSeo are expected to extend their streak in popularity for the weeks to come!

Last March, C-REAL made their way into the girl group line with “Joma Joma” which featured tap dance moves with its musical-esque beats and groove. C-REAL showed off their cute and bubbly charms with their visuals and choreography.

The cutesy girl group is now trying a new transformation.

Despite their average age of 17, C-REAL members will show off their surprising expression of emotions and vocals in their new single, “Sorry But I“, set for release on May 16th.

“Sorry But I” is the first single C-REAL will be releasing since their debut. The song will show a new image of C-REAL singing a pop ballad song, which expresses a shy girl maturing through her hesitant feelings towards falling in love.

The queen of the ballads, Baek Ji Young, is ready to make her come back with a dance number as her title song.

This will be the first time Baek Ji Young will be releasing a dance song since 2009′s “My Ear’s Candy” featuring 2PM‘sTaecyeon from her mini album “Ego“.

The title song, “Good Boy“, has already been receiving lots of attention for its collaboration with B2ST‘s skilled rapper, Junhyung. In “Good Boy”, Junhyung will be the Bad Boy thinking lightly of a woman’s heart and has participated in the rap making and in the music video. He will be a reliable partner for Baek Ji Young’s comeback as he will be performing on stage with her as well.

Junhyung’s rap will be capturing the hearts of many fans with his direct message of scolding a woman for seeing a man as a child.

It’s been announced that boy group, Dalmatian will be delaying their album release by one day to May 16th.

According to their agency, “We planned to release Dalmatian’s new album and songs simultaneously, but a problem has occurred with the distributor who is responsible for the mastering.”

They continued, “Additional time for the re-mastering was needed. We will do our best release the songs in top quality. The Dalmatian members are a little disappointed, but they plan to practice more to show perfection with the delay.”

The boys will be making a comeback after a year and three months with their second mini-album title track, “E.R“.

First of all, Happy Mothers Day‘s to all of you wonderful mothers out there!

While showing appreciation for our wives, girlfriends, and mothers, we thought this week, we’d ask our female staff members to share some of the male celebrities they’ve been drooling over with an emphasis on “chocolate abs”.

Surprisingly… or not so surprisingly, the amount of pictures they submitted was way more than we had expected to receive. So for this week, we’ve decided to include the first ten of the pictures our female staff members picked. Stay tuned for more coming up later!